Disney shares that the story behind the Market revolves around it serving as a center of commerce and place of welcome for visitors from all around the world who come to the village in order to explore the animals of Africa on the reserve.

While the marketplace will also feature merchandise spots, food will be the focus, featuring four walk-up windows serving African-inspired street food, with seating for over 200 guests. The idea is to wander and find what catches your fancy, though you may find it hard to decide…

There was a time when snacks found at Disneyland and Walt Disney World were somewhat distinct.

Sure, you had your overlaps with good reason (Hello, Dole Whip deliciousness and sponsorship), but things were still unique to some extent on each coast.

These days, homogeneity of Disney snacks seems to be hitting a new high, as we see foods and beverages pop up in both locales. (Cones in WDW and DL spring to mind, as do LeFou’s Brew and Red’s Apple Freeze.) Still, there is reason to rejoice and know that not all of the character of your favorite spots is lost.

Today, we’re recalling some Disneyland snacks that are unique to those parks. These are the treats that we haven’t seen surface quite the same way Back East. And though we feel for our friends who only have the pleasure of visiting Disney World, I think it’s neat that some things remain hallmarks of the original Disney park. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites.

Corn Dogs. REAL Ones.

These are not your garden variety, find-‘em-in-the-frozen-section corn dogs. Nope. These babies are hand dipped in this amazing sweet cornbread batter before they’re fried to a crispy, dark golden brown. And if you get crispies in your little plastic basket — score!!

Disneyland Hand-Dipped Corn Dog

And they’re huge! Definitely big enough to make a meal, they come with your choice of apple slices or potato chips on the side.

Mickey Beignets

Another quintessential snack that I must have whenever I’m in Disneyland are Mickey Beignets.

And it’s not just about the cuteness factor! They’re really delicious, too!

Another great thing about Mickey Beignets is that you can get them at both counter service and table service locations! If you’d just like to snack and stroll, check them out at the Mint Julep Bar, where you can enjoy them with a classic Disneyland Mint Julep.

I can’t get enough of the incredible photos that you are submitting over at Disney Food Blog Photo Extravaganza! This week, we’re taking a look at a fan favorite on both coasts — the humble Disney Corn Dog! After our Hot Dog Pics of the Week feature, we knew we needed a separate corn dog post. The day has come!

First Disneyland Corn Dog

I adore this picture, and its original caption says it all: “Firsts…There’s nothing like experiencing things for the first time. Your first trip to Disneyland, your first pair of Mickey Ears and the first time you burn your mouth on a Disneyland Corn Dog.” We couldn’t agree more!
Photographer: Michael Greening

Welcome back Carrie Hayward as she returns to show us specialty menu items from Disneyland’s Soundsational Annual Passholder event! And don’t forget to read Carrie’s bio at the end of this post — she’s pretty amazing!

Over the last week, Disneyland has hosted two after-hours parties to give annual passholders an up-close look at the new Soundsational parade and how it was created. Four special menu items were introduced for the events, each available at a different location and only between the hours of 4pm and midnight that day. However, word on the street is that one or more of them may have been a test for future inclusion on park menus.

Soundsational Eats

Let’s see how the four potentially new menu items stack up!

Mac & Cheese Hot Dog – Main Street Refreshment Corner
Definitely the most talked-about special menu item, this diet-busting snack featured one of Disneyland’s new larger — and reportedly more flavorful hot dogs — smothered in neon macaroni & cheese and topped with bacon bits.

The last Disney hot dog I ate was at Walt Disney World (at Disneyland, I go straight for the corn dogs) and it didn’t seem particularly puny or bland, so I can’t comment on whether the new dog is an improvement.

Disneyland’s has a snappy casing and a salty, beefy taste. The macaroni and cheese was not quite up to par with my beloved Walt Disney World Mickeyroni — more plasticky and less cheesy — but it still had that satisfyingly creamy quality that tells you you’re eating a hot dog covered with mac ‘n’ cheese!

The bacon crumbles were the packaged kind you can buy at the market and didn’t taste like much of anything… think of them as savory sprinkles.

Mac n Cheese Hot Dog

Soundsational “Cupcake” – Blue Ribbon Bakery
As it turned out, there was no Soundsational cupcake at Blue Ribbon Bakery on either party night, and at the first party, bakery cast members acted as if the sign announcing the cupcake was the first they’d heard of it. By the time the second party rolled around, the chef had pulled something together on the fly — a chocolate-chocolate chip muffin topped with cream cheese frosting and a white chocolate Mickey pumpkin.

This sounded like it might be weird, but the muffin was so [Read more…]

So, corn dogs are pretty awesome. And corn dog nuggets — those little mini corn dogs that are bite sized and just perfect for snacking — are seen by many as a good thing made better.

Casey’s Corner Corn Dog Nuggets

The corn dog nuggets that many of us are familiar with can be found at Casey’s Corner in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom:

Casey's Corner Corn Dog Nuggets

These are great! Mini hot dogs encased in a thick cornbread coating, they’re the perfect treat to snack on while you’re watching the parade come down Main Street, USA, or while you’re waiting to see the fireworks show above the castle… . You can pair them with mustard, plastic cheese, barbecue sauce, ketchup — the condiments list is endless, and for those who consider condiments a food group (like I do), it’s a dream come true!

We’ve all experienced it — that moment when you first bite into something you’ve never had before…and realize you now have a new favorite food to add to your list of must-eats! I’ve had that experience multiple times in the past year, and thought it might be fun to trade stories with you guys.

First up, and probably my very favorite, is that completely-pre-processed-and-I-know-it fried ice cream at the American pavilion in Epcot stand on the Boardwalk! I mean, come on. Melty ice cream goodness covered in crunchies, fried, and drowned in dark chocolate syrup?! GIMB! (Translation — Get In My Belly!)

Fried Ice Cream Close Up

Next, I’ve got to give the spotlight to the Disneyland hand-dipped corn dog. I know this isn’t a “new” item at all, but it’s new to me this year, and I’m in love.

Corn bread just tastes better in Disneyland — at least I think so — and when you wrap it fresh around a savory hot dog and stick a few fries on the side, it’s like heaven in a basket. You may have [Read more…]

Disney Food for Families columnist Erin Foster ponders how to avoid lost kids and cold food at the multi-line quick service locations like Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe and Sunshine Seasons.

While I am obviously a fan of Disney dining in general, there is one particular aspect of eating at Walt Disney World that, as a parent, I find maddening: the multi-line quick service restaurant.

For those of you new to eating at WDW, some of the quick service (otherwise known as counter service) restaurants are set up with one order/payment line for all types of food items served there. The out-of-Disney-World analogy to this would be McDonald’s or similar fast food restaurants where you walk up to the cashier and tell him you want a burger, your husband wants chicken, and your daughter wants a salad. You pay and they give you all your food on one tray. Makes sense, right?

Epcot's Electric Umbrella. Single-line quick service. Many foods, one place to order.

However, many quick service restaurants on Disney property do not follow this model. Instead of one place to order all the items sold at that location, there are multiple lines. One line to order burgers, one line to order chicken, one line to order salads, and so on. The out-of-Disney-World analogy to this is the mall food court.

Multi-line, food-court-style, quick service restaurant.

So, Here’s the Problem

The multi-line quick service restaurant became my personal pet peeve way back in 1998, during our first trip to WDW with our oldest daughter, who was not quite two years old at the time. We were staying at [Read more…]

Heather Sievers, a Disneyland food expert, Mom, and inventor of Time Out Spots, is back! And today she’s sharing a bit of exciting news about the Bountiful Valley Farmers Market in Disney California Adventure — they’re Now Serving Corn Dogs! Read her delicious review of one of her (and my!) family’s favorite Disneyland meals…

There aren’t too many food items my entire family can agree on for a Disney dinner on any given night. There is, however, one thing that goes over well no matter what. A Disney corn dog. There is the ever popular Corn Dog Cart at the end of Main Street in Disneyland, but the line there is almost always ridiculous. You know what that means though? Long line = good food (well, usually that’s what it means; we’ve probably all waited in a long line that may have not been “worth it” at some point). Disney corn dogs are worth the wait, but if you’ve got a park hopper ticket, skip the line and head over to California Adventure.

When the Corn Dog Castle closed its windows a while back (due to the construction of The Little Mermaid ride), we were beyond upset. That is, until we saw the sign at The Bountiful Valley Farmer’s Market that reads “Now Serving Corn Dogs.” [Read more…]